Utility Week

Customers This week Energy inquiry 'did not go far enough' CMA panellist says it would be risky to rely on the remedies proposed in the final report A panellist on the Competition and Markets Authority's investi- gation into the energy market is concerned that the remedies do not go far enough to fix the mar- ket, and has called for wider price controls to protect consumers. The CMA published its final report containing remedies to fix competition and engagement in the industry on 24 June, aer a two-year investigation. In a statement of dissent at the end of the report, panel member Martin Cave said: "I respectfully disagree with my colleagues over an important aspect of the rem- edies adopted for the domestic retail energy market. "I do not oppose the proposed remedies, but I do not think they go far enough. It would be very good news if they did work speedily, but I am far from confident that they will." Cave said the proposed remedies will take time to come into effect and are untried and untested, which makes it "risky to rely on them". Referring to the Ofgem-controlled database and the rollout of smart meters, Cave outlined how a wider price control could be jointly beneficial. Independent supplier First Utility warned that the CMA "missed an opportunity" with its investigation, and its remedies could have a "counter effect" on the market. Chief customer officer Ed Kamm told Utility Week: "We clearly feel like the CMA has missed the mark… We are deeply dissatisfied as this is a missed opportunity. "It is going to have a counter impact and actually make things worse." SJ ENERGY Brexit likely to push up bills, says energy committee chair The UK's vote to leave the European Union is likely to push up energy bills, according to the chair of the Energy and Climate Change select committee. Angus MacNeil told Utility Week that, with the pound plum- meting and Standard and Poor's downgrading the UK's credit rating to AA, there will be "a premium for investment". "All we can hope is things settle in a week," he said. "The people looking like taking over the helm – Johnson and Far- age – do not encourage much confidence at all." WATER New provider to target Scottish SMEs A new authorised water provider – Brightwater Services – has been set up to target small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland. The East Lothian-based com- pany is the brainchild of Scottish entrepreneur Roger Green and digital expert Rich Rankin. Brightwater plans to fill a niche in the SME sector, target- ing independent businesses in sectors such as retail, services, tourism and hospitality and professional services. Since deregulation in 2008, when the non-domestic water market in Scotland was valued at £350 million, the focus by most other licensed providers operating in Scotland has been on switching large users where the biggest gains are to be made, said the company. Brightwater's business model is based on delivering cost sav- ings of more than £1 million to its customers in its first three years through competitive pric- ing, while also reducing their overall combined water use by 287 million litres. ENERGY 'Delay smart meter deadline until 2025' Citizens Advice Scotland has called on the UK government to delay the final deadline for completion of the smart meter rollout by five years. The current rollout, which is due to begin fully this sum- mer, aims to offer smart meters to every household by 2020, but the Consumer Futures Unit (CFU) at Citizens Advice Scotland said it believes this will cause problems for vulnerable customers and increase the overall cost of the project. The EU deadline for com- pletion is 2025 and the CFU's report argues that this should be adopted, recommending a target of 80 per cent of smart meter installs by 2020 and 100 per cent by 2025. Cave: remedies are not tried and tested 24 | 1ST - 7TH JULY 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Households in Wales are "significantly" more satisfied than customers in England with both the value for money and overall quality of their water and sewerage services, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater). The group's research revealed that 78 per cent of customers in Wales are likely to agree that water companies care about the service they provide, compared with 72 per cent of customers in England. However, there is a WATER Welsh water customers 'more satisfied' than English five-year upward trend for both countries. Trust is also signifi- cantly higher in Wales than in England (8.07 out of 10 com- pared with 7.73). In 2015, satisfaction with value for money of water ser- vices was significantly higher in Wales, because of a rise in satis- faction among Welsh customers from 76 per cent in 2014 to 82 per cent in 2015. The same was true for sewer- age services, with satisfaction in Wales significantly higher than in England because of a notable rise of 7 per cent in the satisfac- tion levels of Welsh customers. Overall, a growing number of customers in England and Wales believe their water company is delivering value for money, with satisfaction 5 per cent higher than in 2011. Top of the table are Welsh Water and Yorkshire Water, which have the most satisfied customers when it comes to the value for money of their tap water (82 per cent) and sewer- age service (83 per cent). CCWater chief executive Tony Smith said: "It's no coincidence that satisfaction levels have risen at the same time water companies have shown a greater commitment to listen to what their customers want. "The signs are encouraging but the job is not done. Many customers who genuinely can- not afford their bills are missing out on assistance schemes which could ease the pressure on thousands of households."

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